In many applications, a need exists to establish alignment of an object with a target. For example within a television studio, movement of a tripod or pedestal associated with a television camera to an alternate locations often occurs to better leverage the investment in such equipment. However, a change in the positioning of the tripod or pedestal with respect to the set often results a change in the camera position. As a consequence, the new position of the camera will likely differ by several centimeters, or even several meters from its previous position (referred to as a “preset”). In the case of a robotically operated camera, no mechanism typically exists for easily accomplishing re-alignment. Rather, the camera must undergo manual re-alignment and followed by time consuming re-programming of the location presets.
Thus a need exists for a technique for simply and efficiently aligning a television camera.